Bite-Size Blog Post #80 - Black Tor

19 Aug

An Exercise in Shape and Contrast

The long dry period that has accompanied this summer is showing no signs of abating. Clear skies and a parched landscape are becoming something I’m getting used to. Summer is a period that sends some landscape photographers into hibernation as they wait for autumn to arrive, but for me, it’s an exciting time, full of opportunities.

One of those opportunities is to practise the craft of black and white photography. This style of landscape photography can work particularly well with the clearer skies and dry landscape, allowing me to concentrate on shapes, textures and contrast rather than colour.

Black Tor is a location I haven’t photographed since visiting a few years ago while filming my Discovering Dartmoor video series. It’s been on my list of places to return to ever since, but you know how it is. Life just gets in the way sometimes!

I was sitting in my studio looking at my locations map, trying to think of somewhere fresh to visit, and despite Black Tor being on the opposite side of Dartmoor from where I live, I decided to make the long journey to this somewhat diminutive tor.

There aren’t necessarily any obvious compositions at Black Tor, particularly with the prominent Princetown mast sitting in the background. But after moving the tripod around, up and down, left and right, I soon found myself looking at a composition that started to work.

Using my Nikon Z8’s Deep Tone Monochrome picture profile, I could visualise on the camera what the finished image might look like. The texture of the tor is striking and colour of the grass really stand out, helped by just how dry the landscape has become.

The photographs are somewhat experimental, but I really enjoyed capturing them. And isn’t that the primary point of photography? To enjoy the experience, experiment a little and perhaps come away with something different from what you originally had in mind?

Let me know what you think in the comments below.